Early spring is a perfect time to refresh our wellness toolkit. The days get longer, the weather gets warmer and our fitness motivation, often dormant during the winter months, starts to flicker back to life. Plus, it’s also when lifestyle purchases can be made on a relatively tight budget.
The Amazon Big Spring Sale and other similar March shopping events are awash with discounted health and fitness products, making it easy to snap up huge deals on everything from running shoes and beginner-friendly exercise equipment to air purifiers and smart scales.
What to buy during spring sales
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BUY: Old-but-gold fitness trackers
If your New Year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside, a new fitness tracker might be the accountability partner you need. Spring is an excellent time to buy wearable tech. With new models often announced in the fall, March sales offer significant markdowns on the previous generations of devices.
Our tip: Look for deals on older smartwatches from renowned brands such as Apple, Garmin and Fitbit. While these old-but-gold fitness trackers may not have the allure of a brand-new release, they tend to be just as reliable for casual fitness tracking as their newer counterparts. What’s more, it’s unlikely they will see significantly bigger discounts later in the year.
If you are not a fan of bulky wrist-worn wearables, consider smart rings instead. These tiny fitness trackers are stylish, unobtrusive and comfortable to wear all day, making them a perfect alternative. More importantly, smart rings tend to get significant discounts around late March and early April, and since they don’t go on sale nearly as often as smartwatches do, it’s a good idea to take advantage of spring deals while they last.
Our tip: Look for models from high-end brands, such as Oura and Ultrahuman. They may not be the most affordable smart rings out there, but they last longer and perform better than their cheaper counterparts.
BUY: Activewear (especially running shoes)
Spring sales are a perfect opportunity to refresh your sports wardrobe, especially if you are looking for a new pair of running shoes or gym shoes.
In late March, many shoe brands discount last season’s collections heavily to make space for the new inventory. Again, older models may not be as trendy and snazzy as the brand-new ones, but do not let fashion dictate your choices here. The technology in a shoe from six months ago is likely just as good as the one released yesterday — and when it comes to footwear, performance and comfort should always take priority over looks.
Our tip: If you want to save as much as possible, head to Amazon and other major online retailers — they usually have a huge stock of last-season running shoes that they want to shift ahead of the summer. However, these online giants offer mostly basic, highly popular models that tend to sell well even at full price. If you are looking for more unique designs or sizes, you may find better (albeit more expensive) deals directly on brand websites.
BUY: Travel-friendly exercise equipment
Early spring is the best time to find discounts on portable exercise equipment, such as resistance bands, all-in-one gyms and yoga mats. That is because the summer holiday season is still months away, and demand for travel-friendly kit remains relatively low. If you intend to maintain your exercise routine throughout the warmer months, now is the time to lock in the prices before they inevitably go up.
Our tip: Resistance band sets are undefeated in this category. They are lightweight, take up zero space in a suitcase and can be used for everything from glute activation to upper-body mobility training.
Other great picks include sliders (flat discs used for core work on carpet or hard floors), jump ropes and Pilates bars.
BUY: Air purifiers
Air purifiers are a sought-after buy all year round, but they are in a particularly high demand in late spring when the sudden rise of pollen wreaks havoc on hay fever sufferers. If you have been thinking of investing in one of these appliances, now is the time to take the step. Spring sales are perhaps the last opportunity to find good deals on air purifiers, with prices tending to go up sharply in April and then remain relatively high until at least the Prime Day sale in July.
Our tip: When choosing an air purifier, do not be guided by price alone. Check if it has the right specs to suit your needs and preferences, and whether it has been independently certified to validate its air-cleaning performance. The best air purifiers for allergies tend to feature True HEPA filters and come with the Asthma & Allergy Friendly certification mark.
BUY: Electric toothbrushes
Spring sales are a good opportunity to invest in your dental health — you can save a good deal on electric toothbrushes, water flossers or dental care products like toothpaste or teeth-whitening strips. The deals may not be as spectacular and plentiful as those seen during Prime Day or Black Friday, but they can still bring a lot of relief to a tight budget.
Our tip: The best electric toothbrush deals tend to be found on Amazon, Target and Best Buy.
What NOT to buy during spring sales
SKIP: Premium cardio machines
It might be tempting to look at a 20% discount on a high-end treadmill, exercise bike or rowing machine and think you are getting a good deal. However, unless you absolutely need it right now, March is not the best time to buy large fitness equipment.
Major appliances like these see their steepest discounts during Amazon Prime Day in July and the Black Friday shopping events in November — often as much as 40-50%.
SKIP: Smart scales
The deals available on smart scales may look massive, but do not judge a book by its cover. Some of the most popular models — such as the budget-friendly Renpho Elis 1 or the premium Runstar 8E SmartScan Pro, for example — tend to be discounted all year round. In fact, they tend to be slightly more expensive during sale events, while still under the guise of a “deal.”
Hold off buying a smart scale for now, unless you don’t mind missing out on any significant savings.